Natsume Yuujinchou 1

The episode starts out with a teenage boy named Natsume on the run from a couple of spirits. Ever since he was younger he’s been able to see things that others can’t but lately they’ve gotten more aggresive towards him. The chase brings him to a shrine where he accidently breaks a rope that acts as part of a barrier.

Breaking the barrier released a very ominous-sounding but actually quite cute cat ayakashi named Nyanko. He talks to Natsume about his grandma, a woman named Reiko who could also see ayakashi, and mentions something called the Book of Friends before disappearing. Natsume heads home, where it’s revealed that he doesn’t tell even the people he lives with that he can see spirits.

Nyanko seemed to be waiting for him to try and steal the Book of Friends but is foiled by a closet door. When his attempt didn’t work, the cat ayakashi seemed to calm down a little and explain to Natsume that the Book of Friends contains the names of ayakashi Natsume’s grandma defeated. Having it allows a person to summon an ayakashi whose name is in the book.

Their conversation is interrupted when the two spirits from the beginning of the episode return to get the book. Natsume manages to get away and once Nyanko catches up he tries to convince Natsume to give him the book but he refuses. The cat ayakashi transforms into his much more intimidating true form and tries to take it by force but Natsume just punches him.

The two make a deal that Natsume will try to give all the names back and if he dies along the way Nyanko will get the book. Natsume goes to deal with one spirit while Nyanko takes care of the other. Using what Nyanko told him, Natsume does a ritual to give back the name and when he does so sees how the name got there in the first place.

It turns out that the ayakashi had been lonely when Reiko came along, beat her, and added her name to the book. After that, the ayakashi waited for a very long time but her name was never called and became even lonelier than before. Finally at some point the ghost wanted her name back and that’s what brought her to Natsume. As the ayakashi starts to fade away it’s shown that she still cares about Reiko and Natsume reassures her that his grandma wasn’t alone. The episode ends on a happy note with Nyanko and Natsume going to get some steamed buns together.

I wasn’t sure what to expect before I watched this. All I knew about it was that ghosts or something was involved. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that this ended up being a very interesting and engaging episode. I swear I didn’t tear up when the ayakashi’s story with Reiko was revealed. It managed to keep my interest for the entire episode without anything flashy happening.

The writing seemed good to me and the characters, mainly Nyanko and Natsume, were well done and likable. The art seemed to fit the feel of the series well. Natsume has very pretty eyelashes. I also really liked the OP. There wasn’t really anything spectacular that stands out to me but overall it was very fitting. The humor didn’t try too hard or anything but it still got a few chuckles out of me.

The story seems like it has a lot of potential. I’m hoping Natsume will find others like him so he won’t be alone. And if the OP is any indicator, it looks like he will. Even if this turns into ’ayakashi of the week’ if the story remains this good I’ll still watch it. So basically, I’m looking forward to the second episode.

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